Sticking with it

Walk-on kept marching back until he made team

Late in the game against Missouri-Kansas City, Florida Atlantic coach Mike Jarvis called out Chris Coleman's name.

"My heart stopped," Coleman said, remembering that moment when he would make his first appearance in a college basketball game. "It was a rush."

For Coleman, of Fort Lauderdale, this was literally a time when a dream does come true.

He was a 23-year-old senior, a walk-on who had been a reserve in high school at Boyd Anderson.

He had tried out in each of his first three years at FAU, only to be told he wasn't good enough.

Each time he shrugged off the disappointment, picked up his sousaphone and went back to playing in the FAU marching band.

But he stayed in shape, determined to give it one more try.

And this fall he made it through the walk-on tryouts, and Jarvis put the 6-foot-6 Coleman on the roster.

"We were desperate. I never expected him to play," Jarvis said. "I told him I didn't know if he would be with us one day, one week or one month."

But Coleman stuck, and his sousaphone stayed in the closet.

The senior was a rookie, and after getting onto the court against UMKC, he gathered in his first rebound, jumped back up and scored his first basket.

Coleman shakes his head and a big grin creases his face when recalling his single minute of playing time in that game.

"You just never know how things will turn out," Coleman said. "You just have to keep trying because you never know."

Falling into place

For Coleman to be where he is, a walk-on who has been averaging 15 minutes of playing time in FAU's last five games, a lot of things had to fall into place.

He had to have tenacity to keep trying out even after being cut in his first three attempts.

Then he needed a coach in a situation like that of Jarvis, who was entering his first season and had not signed enough scholarship players to fill out his roster.

And then to move from practice player to contributor, FAU had to lose three players to injuries and eligibility issues.

"Our desperation and our need led to an opportunity for Chris," Jarvis said. "Most years we wouldn't even have had tryouts. I hope we don't next season. But we had to this year."

Coleman brought two pairs of shoes to the tryouts, one for running and one for playing, since he didn't know what to expect from the third coach he would be trying out for.

The first year it was Matt Doherty, who cut him, and the second and third years it was Rex Walters.

"Doherty and Walters ran us and ran us," Coleman said. "For Jarvis we scrimmaged and I guess he liked what he saw."

Jarvis said, "He had the courage after being rejected to come back. You have to give him a lot of credit."

A shining light

Coleman, who did not play in 10 of FAU's first 15 games, has played in seven straight at forward, and had four points and four rebounds in Saturday's 63-47 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

That win snapped a 13-game losing streak, as FAU (5-18, 1-10 Sun Belt) has been struggling after losing three of its top players.

In any other year, Coleman would probably appear only in mop-up duty, but he started one game and is now one of the first players off the bench.

That's because Jarvis said Coleman has worked hard to improve and he has earned the extra time.

"Chris is a shining light for us to follow," Jarvis said. "He has gotten this opportunity and he is making the most of it."

Coleman will graduate this spring after majoring in commercial music.

He said he would cherish his one year of college basketball. "It has shown me you can always be surprised at what you can do if you want it bad enough," Coleman said.

Jarvis said that while Coleman's name won't be in any record books, his legacy at FAU will last a long time.

"Later in life, if anyone who has known Chris is thinking about quitting, they will think of him," Jarvis said. "Imagine what would have happened if he had hung up the sneakers after he got cut that third time."